


Snapshot

by phoenixnz



Series: Smallville Christmas [13]
Category: Smallville
Genre: Gen, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:54:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28183500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phoenixnz/pseuds/phoenixnz
Summary: Little Lo can't wait to go out in the snow
Relationships: Ella Lane/Sam Lane
Series: Smallville Christmas [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2049984
Comments: 2
Kudos: 2





	Snapshot

“Mommy, look!”

Ella followed her daughter’s pointing finger and saw the snow coming down. “Yes, honey, I see.”

“Can I make a snowman?”

“Honey, I don’t think there’s enough snow for that, yet.”

The little dark-haired girl pouted. “But I want to make a snowman!” she said petulantly. 

Oh boy, Ella thought. It looked like somebody was going to have a tantrum. Lately, it was the little things that set them off. She’d already told off her daughter for sneaking downstairs to take a peek at her presents. 

The books didn’t really talk about how to handle a child as wilful as Lois. She was definitely her father’s daughter, Ella thought. Although Sam would disagree. 

The books also didn’t really give any idea on how to handle a child whose father was always away. She understood Sam had his duties, but why did he have to go at Christmas? The holidays were for spending with family, not fighting some unknown enemy somewhere.

She sighed. She knew how that sounded. She knew what she’d signed up for when she’d married Sam Lane, but there were times when the sacrifice was just too much. 

Ella somehow managed to distract her daughter from the falling snow and stop the tantrum in its tracks. The three-year-old was left to play happily in the den while Ella finished her housework and made dinner. She put both girls, Lois and one-year-old Lucy to bed with promises of playing in the snow tomorrow, if it had stopped snowing by then. 

She went to bed early but was unable to sleep, listening to the sounds of the house creaking. It was a rather old house. She never knew what to expect when they moved bases every two years or so. The housing was either old and almost spacious or new and cramped. There never seemed to be any happy medium. It was worse when they lived at a base in a foreign country. Despite that, she was glad that at least they were reasonably close to Metropolis, where her sister lived. Just a couple of months ago, Moira had had an accident, driving her car into a ditch to avoid a meteor shower. Little Chloe, who was a few months younger than Lois, had been with her. 

She dropped off to sleep only to be woken again by a sound. For a moment, she thought it was just the house creaking, but the sound was much louder and more regular. Someone was in the house. 

She got out of bed, grabbing whatever was handy. Unfortunately, what was handy was a pillow. 

“Yeah, great, Ella,” she told herself. “What’re you gonna do? Feather them to death?”

She crept out into the hallway, her bare feet feeling the cold of the wooden floors. She raised the pillow, just as the hall light snapped on and she identified the face of her husband. 

“Oh, Sam!”

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

The Colonel quietly explained that his military transport had got in at midnight and he’d been anxious to get home to spend Christmas with his girls. 

The next morning, Lois ran in to find both of her parents in bed. She squealed in excitement, throwing her arms around her father’s neck, chattering enthusiastically.

“And Mommy said we could go out and build a snowman,” she finished. 

Ella grinned as Sam looked at her. He looked tired from lack of sleep, but there was no such thing as sleeping in when there were young children in the house. 

“After breakfast, honey,” Ella said gently. 

The little girl pouted but her father soon distracted her with promises of more hugs and kisses. Sure enough, after breakfast, Sam took her hand to lead her outside in the snow. Ella stopped him.

“Honey, make sure she’s warm first.”

He grinned and pinched the toddler’s nose. “We wouldn’t want you to get frostbite, would we, Little Lo?”

Once she had her warm clothes on and her hands were protected with mittens, father and daughter went out into the snow. It had stopped snowing some time in the night but it was still fairly deep. Enough for them to work on their snowman. 

“We’re gonna build the bestest snowman ever, aren’t we Daddy?” Lois said.

“We sure are,” he said. 

Ella stood at the frosted window and watched as the pair worked together. Sam was her daughter’s hero and any time they spent together was precious. She knew Sam would have to go back to work, but for now, he could enjoy being with his eldest child. 

The snowman slowly began to take shape. Sam did all the heavy lifting, making sure the snowballs fit properly, while Lois gathered branches for the arms. An old army scarf of Sam’s was wrapped around the snowman’s neck and his beret completed the look. Ella went out with her camera to take a picture. 

“What do you think, Mom?” Sam said. 

“He’s the bestest ever,” Lois crowed. 

Ella grinned at her daughter’s enthusiasm. “Say cheese,” she instructed. Sam hoisted Lois onto his shoulders and they stood next to the snowman as she took the photo.

**Author's Note:**

> The prompt was building a snowman but I also thought it would make a nice 'snapshot' of a very young Lois before her mother died. I could just imagine them standing next to a snowman smiling for the camera. I also think that Sam would have been a good father in those days. Grief and loss can change someone.


End file.
